Elijah (3) – By the Brook Cherith (1 Kings 17:2-6) – South Yarra Presbyterian Church Sermon Notes Morning Service, 17 May 2009 Elijah’s means “the Lord is God.” Elijah’s ministry corresponded exactly to his name, for he was sent by God to confront the worship of Baal by God’s people, and to declare to Israel that the Lord was God and there was no other. The first act of the battle scene, as it were, was Elijah the prophet of God standing as God’s ambassador in the very throne room of King Ahab making known God’s judgement to this ungodly King who not only built a temple for Baal in his capital but also actively pursued an anti-God policy which was aimed at the full and final eradication of anything to do with the God of Israel from his kingdom. That judgement was the application of the curse Drought conditions had begun. The fact that it didn’t yet look serious didn’t alter the fact.

Elijah, in tune with the revealed will of God had prayed that God would fulfil His curse upon His rebellious people – not so they might suffer, but that through their suffering they might return to God in repentance, and God be glorified in His mercy and grace by a people renewed in obedience to and worship of God. Despite the outward appearances of peace and prosperity, Elijah declared this reality to the godless king Ahab, stressing that it would continue until Elijah once more came to the king. It is against this background that now we consider v.2-6, in which we see Elijah in response to God’s instruction leaving the king’s presence and going to the Brook Cherith. This brook was not far from where he lived. In other words he was to return home, but not to the comforts of home for he is told to “hide” . There is no doubt a measure of foresight behind this for as the reality of the drought increasingly set in and began to cost king and nation it would be matched by an increasing hatred of Elijah. Here in the isolated region he would be safe from the searching and potentially murderous wrath of the king.

So we see Elijah secreting himself away in territory familiar to him, but clearly one in which he would be hard to find. How are we to interpret this hiding of Elijah by the brook Cherith? What was God doing? In answering this let us note that Elijah’s removal was: 1. An Act of Judgement The first thing we notice here is that this was not Elijah’s idea, it was the Lord’s doing. Elijah was not running away, he was being removed. In v.2 we read “Then the word of the Lord came to him…” He was being removed by God. No doubt in time it would work to his safety as we just noted, but there is no hint that Ahab was immediately seeking to deal with Elijah. No doubt he thought it was all a joke. But it was no joke. It’s important here to note this against the background of v.1 where we read of the close identification between the word of the prophet and God – “my word” said Elijah – though it was God’s Word. Hence, in having Elijah’s presence and hearing Elijah’s word, they were being given the ministry of God, hearing the Word of God.

By implication then, the removal of Elijah form the scene was not merely a symbolic but indeed a literal removal of the voice of God from the people. They had spurned it, now they will be deprived of it. In other words the drought was not merely going to be of water, but there would be a drought of the Word… The nation had already had the ‘tap of refreshing moisture’ turned off, and now having been given a prophet he is immediately removed. Though they will look they will not be able to find him. God’s word through His prophet is removed. But further, as a result it meant that the opportunity to apply some pressure on Elijah to pray for a shorting of the judgement was removed. God was determined that it will last for the full distance He had decreed. God was determined there would be none to stand in the gap. Though great and terrifying are temporal judgements upon a people, none is so great as the removal of His Word and instruction and prayer based on that Word. And woe betide then any church or nation when God removes His Word and its servants from it. How we should make use of the opportunities God gives us lest they be taken from us.

Let us never presume that we will always have the opportunities we now have. Even in the letters to the 7 churches of Revelation this warning is given, a warning we do well to take seriously as a church (cf 2:5)! 2. An act of dependance Elijah was destined for even greater heights of service, but he was not ready for that yet. He would go to Mt Carmel and achieve great things for God, but first he needed an education so God sends him to Cherith and to Zarapeth. This removal was for the further preparation and equipping of his servant for what lay ahead of him. Elijah had just had a very heady experience. He would have been high on adrenalin and on grace. He had been to the court of this king as the Ambassador of the King of kings, he had done something that was not only courageous, it was spiritually significant. God had spoken to this nation. Our natural inclination would be to begin to think of the next task. How do we build on it. But God says ‘Hide!’ Our natural response to this direction would have been to say ‘Hide – when there is so much to be done? We need to capitalise on this great start!

We’ve challenged the king, let’s challenge the prophets of Baal next!..” We like to be in the middle of things. Go show yourself is easy – to hide yourself is hard! The fact is that God lead’s His servants one step at a time. Remember Saul as he talked with the Lord Jesus on the road to Damascus? He said, “Lord what will you have me to do?’ (Acts 9:6). There was a bold and even aggressive determination about him as he desired to serve the Lord. That which had driven him to hunt Christians, now drove him to serve Christ. But it was a self-originated zeal. There was too much of Saul about it – his desire, his enthusiasm, his determination as to what comes next and how it will be done. As such he was not yet right for the Lord’s service. How strange the reply must’ve been to him: “Arise and go into the city, and it shall be told you what you must do.’ Just one step at a time Saul – that’s how I operate. Don’t run ahead of Me, rather follow behind looking primarily to Me not to the work. Have we not know this in our own Christian service? One step at a time.

By this method God makes us dependent upon Him rather than upon ourselves. If we knew the end from the beginning we might try to devise a better way of arriving at that end, we certainly would be tempted to run ahead of God. By this method we find ourselves looking to Him for more, learning by easy stages the habit of obedience and trust. It also teaches us that life is not meaningless, there is always more to do. As we accomplish one thing from the Lord we neither give ourselves to idleness as if there is nothing more to do, nor do we give ourselves over to despair wondering how we will do what comes next for as we step out in faith we know we will find that God has prepared a stepping stone, and another… each appearing as we come to it. 3. An act of perspective It is surely no coincidence that God lead him to a quiet place where the only continual sound would be the rippling of this brook. Here he was to be alone for at least a year without human company. More importantly, here he would be alone with God. We all need to learn to spend time alone with God. It doesn’t come easy. There are so many distractions that demolish our best plans.

Sometimes God has to force us into it. We need to see the value of it, which lies in it helps keep things in perspective. There would be none here for Elijah to be tempted to parade himself before. He can only talk about what had happened with God – now that will keep the fleshly pride down! God saw the need for Elijah to keep things in perspective, and there is nothing like quiet times where we are alone with the Lord to help us find that. How easy it is to make the service which God trusts us with a pedestal on which to display ourselves. But God will not share His glory, so Elijah is told to go to a lonely place. Jesus did the same with His disciples at the end of a tour of ministry, so full were they of the joy of success of their ministry, what they had been involved in: “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while” (Mk 6:31). We ought not be surprised if our Father says, ‘You have had enough of this hurry, publicity and excitement.

Go hide yourself by the Cherith of sick bed, of bereavement…’ We can be too strong, too full of ourselves for God to use, and so by the Cheriths God buries our self-centeredness. The other side of this is that if we would wield great power for God we must win it in some hidden Cherith. For it was from here that Elijah began the journey to Mt Carmel. ‘The acquisition of spiritual power is impossible unless we hide ourselves from men and from ourselves in some gorge where we may absorb the power of the eternal God’ (Martin) 4. An act of faith The place chosen was a great place for hiding but a challenge to survive there. Yet God proved Himself adequate. There was a brook for water, and at His command even the ravens helped provide for Elijah’s needs. In this God was teaching Elijah to trust Him contrary to sight. Think of the obstacles to faith: Ravens! Birds of prey more likely to take meat from him (including of his bones) than to feed him. They live on carrion yet they will bring him wholesome food. They will neglect their young yet when God pleases they will feed His prophet. A Brook!

This was a time of severe drought. Even a river would have been regarded as insufficient. How could it last? Yet it did. There! Only in that most unlikely place and nowhere else, not where we would have chosen as a likely haven! By it Elijah was to learn to fix his attention on God not God’s instruments. If we are where God wants us to be then we can be assured that God will work and direct miracles rather than see us perish for lack! At first we yield a timid obedience to the command of God which seems to involve a multitude of difficulties. But when we find that God is better than His Word our faith grows and we advance to further feats of faith and service. This is how God trains His young eaglets to fly. At last nothing is impossible. This is the key to Elijah’s experience and life. As we leave this passage are we not lifted up in our vision to see the glory of the God we are called to trust? See His absolute sovereignty and power that even birds contrary to natural instincts do His bidding on behalf of His people. See His unsearchable wisdom in that if humans delivered food they may have divulged the hiding place, if dogs, morning and night, someone might have seen this curiosity and followed.

But birds carrying food would’ve aroused no interest. See His unmatchable grace in that though He withdraws His Word from a people for a season yet He protects that Word and its servants for future ministry. No matter the circumstances we will always find God adequate. Take heart. Those dark shadows on the horizon may well be God’s ravens. Be assured that God will never forsake you nor fail you. That Elijah learned his lesson well is seen in what he said to the widow in v.13,14. Elijah not only preached God’s Word, he practised it – he went without hesitation. This is the crying need of our times for there is a great deal of talking but little walking according to Divine precepts and directions. Bible Study Elijah 1 Kings 17 The cutting away at Cherith Introduction and a quick recap Letï¿½s look at another character study on Elijah. This is the second message on Elijah and we are in 1 Kings chapter 17. Last time we looked at the state of Israel at the time Elijah came on the scene.

After Solomon's death there was a split in the Kingdom; Jeroboam was the King in the northern kingdom of Israel and he set up alternate places of worship because he was afraid of his people going down to Jerusalem to worship.ï¿½ He feared that they would not return if they went down there, so he set up temples in which he placed idols and golden calves. This caused idolatry to come into the land because the people worshipped these and were led astray.ï¿½ Various kings reigned after Jeroboam but the Bible says that the worst king of the Northern tribes was Ahab.ï¿½ 1st Kings 16:30 tells us that he did more evil in the sight of the Lord than all that were before him.ï¿½ Now Ahab had married a Sidonian princess who influenced her husband greatly. She began with pluralism, which meant that it was alright to worship more than one God - both Yahweh and Baal...

it didnï¿½t seem to matter.ï¿½ Ahab went along with her in everything she proposed, even setting up an idol in the house of Baal in Samaria.ï¿½ Now Baal was the god of fertility, the god of rain, and the god of the increase of their crops.ï¿½ However, before long Jezebel tried to wipe out Yahwehï¿½s name from the land.ï¿½ She did many evil things such as setting up high places for Baal and she also had the prophets of the Lord killed.

So it was in this context that Elijah came to speak forth the word of judgement in the presence of Ahab.ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ Standing before the king 1 Kings 17:1ï¿½ Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word." Looking again at the 1st verse of this chapter, we noticed that it was a small thing for Elijah to stand before Ahab because he had stood before the King of Kings.ï¿½ So Elijah comes into his presence and brings this word of judgement to Ahab.ï¿½ Now we will see what God does through Elijah.ï¿½ His prophecy was that there would be no rain for 3 1/2 years, and there would not be any dew either - unless he said so. Elijah comes out of nowhereï¿½ he comes out of the mountains of Gilead with this word to Ahab. Time to leave I think!

1 Kings 17:2-4ï¿½ Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah:ï¿½ (3)ï¿½ Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan.ï¿½ (4)ï¿½ You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there." Instantly the word of the Lord came to him and he was told to flee to Cherith and hide there. The promise God gave him was that he would be provided for there. Cherith is a place of isolation. It is a place where you are completely cut off and are totally dependent upon God and His resources. You see, before Elijah was able to stand on Mount Carmel and challenge the 800 false prophets, he first had to learn certain principles. He had to learn what Cherith means. When you look through the Bible, most of God's saints have gone through a ï¿½Cherithï¿½. Moses was forty years in the backside of the desert. It was a time of isolation when he had no resources of his own. Joseph was in prison, falsely accused and isolated.

The story of Joseph is one of the most amazing stories ï¿½ he went from prison to the right hand of the ruler of Egypt in one day, but God had His reasons for putting Joseph there. God had his reasons for isolating David and for isolating Moses and Joseph. Jesus was the same. He always drew aside. Do you remember the story of His disciples when they went out to preach and did all these wonderful miracles and came back to Him really glorying in all that had happened?ï¿½ Do you know what the first thing Jesus said to them was? ï¿½Let's draw aside to a quiet placeï¿½.ï¿½ He realised that there was actually too much of self in what they had just been doing. ï¿½Come aside to a quiet place,ï¿½ He said.ï¿½ ï¿½Let's get down to where things are a bit quieter and your dependence on God is more real.ï¿½ Paul, straight after he was saved, spent virtually eleven years in obscurity in the desert.

What did he do down there?ï¿½ He did absolutely nothing that is recorded.ï¿½ Eleven years - that's a long time before God said ï¿½okay let's go - now you are ready to stand before kings and before gentilesï¿½. But there were years and years of isolation in obscurity.ï¿½ That is what a ï¿½Cherithï¿½ is.ï¿½ Itï¿½s a place where God actually removes you for a specific purpose and the word means ï¿½a cutting offï¿½. Sometimes a Cherith experience is there to get the world out of us.ï¿½ If we have too much of the world in our lives we will be put into a position where we have to be cut off from things that control us.ï¿½ What God teaches Elijah, and us, at Cherith! 1 Kings 17:5-6ï¿½ So he did what the LORD had told him.

He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there.ï¿½ (6)ï¿½ The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. There are three things I gleaned from this passage that I believe God was teaching Elijah. The first one is in verse 5 - it is actually obedience to three simple words.ï¿½ Before he could stand on Mount Carmel he had to learn to sit at the brook Cherith. God had commanded and Elijah went and did what he was told.ï¿½ You don't see Elijah debating with God about the direction he should go. He just went and did what he was told.ï¿½ As I was thinking about this, I noticed the simplicity of it.ï¿½ Jesus said in John 15:14 ï¿½You are My friends if you do what I command.ï¿½ Again, just the simplicity of what obedience really is. When we feel God is saying something to us we should actually act on it. But it's not acting out of fear.

We respond to God out of relationship.ï¿½ I was just thinking about how God speaks to me when I walk my dog. If dogs are treated properly they are manï¿½s best friend. This is because they are so relational, and they are obedient... well most of the time anyway! If you treat a dog properly it will actually respond to you and it will want to please you. It will want to be where you are and will desire to be doing what you are doing. The dog I have at the moment, no matter which room I am in, will wait outside the door for me. If I am in the shower he is waiting for me. If I go anywhere on my property heï¿½s right there with me. I really canï¿½t go anywhere without him following me! He just watches me intently and I cannot get into the car without his beady eyes on me! As I was walking him the other day a lady said to me that she could tell that it was my dog because even when it was doing its own thing, it always had one eye on me. She said that my dog was really obedient as it was never too far away but was always watching what I was doing.

When she said that I thought to myself that that is the way we need to be with God. We need to be watching what He is doing and attentive to what our Father is asking of us. Sometimes you see a dog that is really unruly (some people can't even let their dog off the leash without spending a couple of hours chasing it around the park before they can catch it!) They are afraid to let it off the leash because they know it won't listen to what they say. Our relationship with God is not like the army where we are told what to do so we obey, otherwise we are going to be doing 40 press ups or running around a field forever. It's out of relationship that we do these things because our Master loves us and we love the Master. Oswald Chambers made this quote. ï¿½ï¿½One step forward in obedience is worth years of study about it.ï¿½ So the first thing that Elijah actually learned was to obey the words which the Lord had spoken to him ï¿½ he went and did. There were no debates with God.

He did not say ï¿½No, I don't really want to do thisï¿½ can I go a different direction?ï¿½ Or ï¿½Why the brook Cherith?ï¿½ï¿½ He went and did what he was told. How does Godï¿½s provision come? The second thing that Elijah had to learn here was His provision. God had commanded him to go and hide by the brook Cherith and had commanded the ravens to feed him there. So God's provision came in two ways to Elijah; there was the natural provision in that there was a brook from which he obtained the water he needed to survive. But God also commanded ravens to bring him his food. ï¿½When you think about your life as a Christian, has God ever failed to meet your needs? I have been saved 21 years now and I can honestly say that I have lacked nothing that I actually needed. God has always given me what was needed. In Matthew 6, Jesus tells us not to worry about what you are going to eat or what you are going to drink. Jesus instructs us to consider the birds of the air and how they are provided for.

And God loves you far more than these things! How much more will God provide for those that love Him. And it's true. God is committed to us to give us what we need. So Elijah here is put in a ï¿½Cherithï¿½ situation and he has to be completely dependent on God ï¿½ he has got water but he doesn't have anything to eat. But God has commanded the ravens to actually feed him. Have any of you ever been fed by birds?ï¿½ This is a miracle because ravens eat meat so they actually bring Elijah something that they would normally partake of themselves!ï¿½ The other point is that ravens were an unclean bird. ï¿½God can bring a blessing through an unclean vessel because the entire world is His. Sometimes in our lives God will use an unclean vessel to bring blessing to us in the same way that He did for Elijah. So be careful about pushing something or some person aside because we think they are ï¿½uncleanï¿½, we need to realise that God can use them in a situation to provide for us. So this is the second lesson. The first was learning obedience.

The second lesson that Elijah is learning concerns His provision. An example of provision from the life of a great saint I read about George Mueller during the week and I thought this man is unbelievable. In his youth he was a rat-bag and even got put in jail.ï¿½ He then got converted and felt Godï¿½s leading to start orphanages in England during the 1800ï¿½s. He never shared the needs but just committed everything to prayer and believed that God would provide! And the stories that you read about him are outstanding.ï¿½ One of them was that he had 10,000 children, all of which he provided for all by faith and prayer.

God provided for the whole lot.ï¿½ He had 300 children at one of his orphanages one morning and they didn't have one thing to eat.ï¿½ He told the people who worked there to get all the children to sit down and give thanks.ï¿½ They sat down and gave thanks (without there being any food!) when suddenly there was a knock on the door and a baker was there who said ï¿½God has kept me awake all night and I knew I had to bake an extra three batches of bread for you.ï¿½ So he brought in the three batches of bread.ï¿½ Then the milkman came past and the wheel fell off his cart right outside the orphanage! So he came and knocked on the door and asked ï¿½do you need any milk because by the time it takes me to get my wheel fixed all the milk that I have is going to go offï¿½. Occurrences like this happened for George Mueller who, through faith in God, provided for the children constantly, all through their life and they never failed to have what they needed. He was amazing because his God is amazing!

Apparently when the children got to a certain age and it was time for them to go out to work, he would put a Bible in their left hand and a penny in the other and he would pray for them and tell them ï¿½If you take care of your left hand, God will take care of your right hand!ï¿½ He just committed everything to God. He never sent out flyers presenting his needs.ï¿½ Everything was done on his knees to His Father whom he knew would provide because he was committed to providing. So with Elijah he had complete dependence upon God here to survive. He had water but he didn't have anything else... yet God provided. ï¿½When the streams of provision turn into trickles... 1 Kings 17:7ï¿½ Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. The third thing that interests me here is that God led him to a brook that was drying up. He led him to a place of provision, but that provision wasn't going to last. When he went there, there was a nice stream of water with plenty to drink.

But because of the drought in the land he was going to be affected as well.ï¿½ That stream turned into a trickle, which would have then turned into a puddle, which then turned into a handful and then into a small sip.ï¿½ So Elijah is at this place watching his provision dwindle.ï¿½ Why would God have led him to a place where the water would dry up?ï¿½ Elijah could have thought that perhaps he should try to find a better place but this would have been a case of him trying to help God out in his own wisdom. It's like that with us.ï¿½ Have you ever felt God lead you to something that doesn't last? My wife, Wendy, actually shared on this passage about a year ago. God opened up a job for her and she had the job virtually a year to the day and it was the greatest job she had ever had. Then the company got sold and restructured and the job was gone. Wendy couldn't understand why God would bring her provision in that way and then allow it to be gone.

Now she can look back and say ï¿½I can see God's hand in thatï¿½.ï¿½ Because what she was doing there has led her to what she is doing now.ï¿½ The contacts that she made there in that year, have led her in a completely different direction which she enjoys far more.ï¿½ It is always when you look back on things that you see how God has been working to take you in the direction that He sees fit. So for Elijah this is a test of faith because it is one step at a time. Do you go running off to look for water? Well Elijah didn't ï¿½ he stayed put. He stayed put right up until the brook dried up completely! You can only live a certain amount of time without water, but he stayed put. Normally we want a road map on life. We want to know where we are going and for how long.ï¿½ We think we need a GPS system which would tell us the quickest way to get where we want to be but God doesn't actually give that to us. He gives us one step at a time, just like He did with Elijah.

He led him to something that wasn't going to last.ï¿½ Elijah demonstrated his complete dependence on God by waiting for Him to tell him what to do next. It is actually at the crisis point when there is nothing left that the Word of the Lord came to him. God always speaks when it is needed, not beforehand. So what do we do if we see our brooks drying up? Now brooks can be mean many things. Our brook can be health or prosperity, or perhaps a relationship that is not going well. We need to wait on God as Elijah did and let Him tell us what we should do. God leads us all differently, but one thing we do need is to hear from God.ï¿½ In this instance, should Elijah have taken the bull by the horns and run off and found his own path?ï¿½ NO! God's provision and blessing was at Cherith.ï¿½ Had he gone somewhere else, it would not have been where God said.

It was here that God had said that ï¿½I have commanded the ravens to feed him.ï¿½ï¿½ So we should not run off and we can only ask ï¿½am I in the place where God wants me to beï¿½ You can only say that for yourself before God. ï¿½Elijah waited for God to act. He waited for God to speak to him. What if we see the hard times coming in advance? I see another principle here in scripture ï¿½ sometimes God tells you ahead of time what is going to happen. Consider Joseph... God told Joseph in a dream that provision was going to dry up. So what did Joseph do? He was actually pro-active and he said okay, if there is going to be a famine, let's start storing our grain now to get us through.ï¿½ So you have that aspect in scripture - that if God shows us something we need to be pro-active and make provision, if we are able, for the future. But you also see this other principle here of a brook that is drying up and he doesn't move because it is part of what God is doing with his character.

It is part of the lesson that has to be learned at Cherith. Conclusion Cherith, as mentioned earlier, means ï¿½a cutting awayï¿½. It is a cutting of all the things of the self-life so that Elijah (and you and I) can be used of God. It's all about dependence upon God.ï¿½ So what do you do personally when you see your brook drying up? Only you can answer that but you need to hear from God just as we saw that Elijah waited upon the Lord. Godï¿½s provision was with Elijah and though hard times came and the provision in that location started to dwindle, God still had other means available for His servant if he would simply wait and be obedient upon the word of God. It is the same for you though hard times will come. But God always has a way! And in the same way that God commanded ravens, He would also command a widow to provide for His servant Elijah in yet another remarkable way. We will continue with that next time and glean from the lessons that can be learnt there.

1 Kings 17:1-7 ESV - Elijah Predicts a Drought - Now Elijah - Bible Gateway 1 Kings 17:1-7English Standard Version (ESV) Elijah Predicts a Drought 17 Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe[ a ] in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” 2 And the word of the Lord came to him: 3 “Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. 4 You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” 5 So he went and did according to the word of the Lord. He went and lived by the brook Cherith that is east of the Jordan. 6 And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. 7 And after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.

Footnotes: 1 Kings 17:1 Septuagint; Hebrew of the settlers Cross references: The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Study This × Bible Gateway Plus Enrich your faith and grow in spiritual maturity with the incredible Bible study and devotional books listed below. Try it for 30 days FREE. Cancel at any time. Learn more You'll get this book and many others when you join Bible Gateway Plus. Learn more You must be logged in to view your newly purchased content. Please log in below or if you don't have an account, creating one is easy and only takes a few moments. After you log in your content will be available in your library. Top × Step 1 - Create an account or log in to start your free trial. Starting your free trial of Bible Gateway Plus is easy. You’re already logged in with your Bible Gateway account. The next step is to enter your payment information. Your credit card won’t be charged until the trial period is over. You can cancel anytime during the trial period. Click the button below to continue.

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Try Today 1 Kings 17 KJV King James Bible Ravens Feed Elijah 1 And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. 2 And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, 3 Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. 4 And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. 5 So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. 6 And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook. 7 And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.

The Widow of Zarephath 8 And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, 9 Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. 11 And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand. 12 And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.

13 And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. 14 For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth. 15 And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. 16 And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah. Elijah Raises the Widow's Son 17 And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him. 18 And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son? 19 And he said unto her, Give me thy son.

And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. 20 And he cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son? 21 And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again. 22 And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. 23 And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth. 24 And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth. King James Bible 1-Kings. Chapter 17.

Elijah and the Ravens and other Miracles #The Norsemen believed that ravens Hugin and Munin sat on the god Odin's shoulders and saw and heard all,[80] and a Raven banner standard was carried by such Viking figures as the Norse Jarls of Orkney,[81] King Canute the Great of England, Norway and Denmark,[82] and Harald Hardrada.[83] #In the British Isles, ravens also were symbolic to the Celts.

In Irish mythology, the goddess Morr n alighted on the hero C Chulainn's shoulder in the form of a raven after his death.[84] #In Welsh mythology they were associated with the Welsh god Bran the Blessed, whose name translates to "raven." According to the Mabinogion, Bran's head was buried in the White Hill of London as a talisman against invasion.[85] #A legend developed that England would not fall to a foreign invader so long as there were ravens at the Tower of London; although this is often thought to be an ancient belief, the official Tower of London historian, Geoff Parnell, believes that this is actually a romantic Victorian invention.[86] In fact, the Tower has lacked ravens for long periods in the past; they were last reintroduced after World War II. The government now maintains several birds on the grounds of the Tower.[87] These birds have the primary feathers of one wing clipped periodically to ensure that they cannot leave, though they are free to roam the tower grounds.

(Compare the legend of the king in the mountain.) Modern scholars have made the claim that since the Hebrew letters for Raven (Orev ARB) are the same as the letters used for ARAB (ARB) that the original intention was the local Arabs brought Elijah food and that it was only later that popular imagination turned ARAV (in Hebrew the word for Arab) into "OREV" the word for Raven. We disagree completely. Nevertheless it is worth pointing out that the very way we pronounce the Hebrew letters and form words out of them is based on tradition passed down from generation to generation. If this tradition is discarded then our whole understanding of the Bible collapses. Karaites The Karaites were a sect who claimed that they wished to discard tradition and re-interpret the Bible according to its simple meaning. In effect few of them agreed with each other and now only a mostly non-observant few of their descendants remain. Certain Christian enthusiasts and one Jewish eccentric are now attempting to revive the Karaite movement.

The Karaites in some ways are successors to the Tsadokim (Sadducees) and Beothians (a related group) who also claimed that they wanted to interpret Scripture only according to its simple meaning Maimonides (Rambam) was himself a most rational original innovative thinker. He pointed out that despite the rational the Sadducess and Beothians claimed for their position their real intentions were atheistic. This is correct, in effect they were assimilationists to the prevailing Hellenistic-Roman pagan philosophic world view. Similarly we have Reform Jews who are now often openly agnostic, and over duly liberal. In the beginning the Reform Jews claimed to be merely adopting more lenient interpretations in the spirit of the Bible and Rabbinical Tradition. 5 SO HE WENT AND DID ACCORDING TO THE WORD OF THE LORD, FOR HE WENT AND STAYED BY THE BROOK CHERITH, WHICH FLOWS INTO THE JORDAN. 6 THE RAVENS BROUGHT HIM BREAD AND MEAT IN THE MORNING, AND BREAD AND MEAT IN THE EVENING; AND HE DRANK FROM THE BROOK.

The Sages said that the bread and meat were taken from the table of Ahab and brought by them to Elijah. Ahab himself was quite complex individual, as we shall see, and in some way may have wanted that such be the case. 7 AND IT HAPPENED AFTER A WHILE THAT THE BROOK DRIED UP, BECAUSE THERE HAD BEEN NO RAIN IN THE LAND. Elijah and the Widow 8 THEN THE WORD OF THE LORD CAME TO HIM, SAYING, 9 "ARISE, GO TO ZAREPHATH, WHICH BELONGS TO SIDON, AND DWELL THERE. SEE, I HAVE COMMANDED A WIDOW THERE TO PROVIDE FOR YOU." Zarephath and Sidon were in the territory of the Israelite Tribe of Asher (Joshua 19:28). At first Israel had been unable to conquer these regions but we find Israelites settled there in the time of King David (2-Samuel 24:6-7, Daat Mikra). The name ZAREPHATH was later to be applied to France or Northern France and is referred to in the Book of Obadiah.

SIDON was the major and senior city of the Phoenicians though the city of Tyre at times was more important. There is a difference of opinion amongst the Commentators as to whether widow was of Israelite or of non-Israelite stock. 10 SO HE AROSE AND WENT TO ZAREPHATH. AND WHEN HE CAME TO THE GATE OF THE CITY, INDEED A WIDOW WAS THERE GATHERING STICKS.

AND HE CALLED TO HER AND SAID, "PLEASE BRING ME A LITTLE WATER IN A CUP, THAT I MAY DRINK." 11 AND AS SHE WAS GOING TO GET IT, HE CALLED TO HER AND SAID, "PLEASE BRING ME A MORSEL OF BREAD IN YOUR HAND." 12 SO SHE SAID, "AS THE LORD YOUR GOD LIVES, I DO NOT HAVE BREAD, ONLY A HANDFUL OF FLOUR IN A BIN, AND A LITTLE OIL IN A JAR; AND SEE, I AM GATHERING A COUPLE OF STICKS THAT I MAY GO IN AND PREPARE IT FOR MYSELF AND MY SON, THAT WE MAY EAT IT, AND DIE." 13 AND ELIJAH SAID TO HER, "DO NOT FEAR; GO AND DO AS YOU HAVE SAID, BUT MAKE ME A SMALL CAKE FROM IT FIRST, AND BRING IT TO ME; AND AFTERWARD MAKE SOME FOR YOURSELF AND YOUR SON. This was the last of the food the woman had for herself and her son. She had intended to prepare and partake of it with her child and prepare for death.

Elijah was requesting that they have faith and give this sustenance unto him. 14 FOR THUS SAYS THE LORD GOD OF ISRAEL: "THE BIN OF FLOUR SHALL NOT BE USED UP, NOR SHALL THE JAR OF OIL RUN DRY, UNTIL THE DAY THE LORD SENDS RAIN ON THE EARTH." 15 SO SHE WENT AWAY AND DID ACCORDING TO THE WORD OF ELIJAH; AND SHE AND HE AND HER HOUSEHOLD ATE FOR MANY DAYS. 16 THE BIN OF FLOUR WAS NOT USED UP, NOR DID THE JAR OF OIL RUN DRY, ACCORDING TO THE WORD OF THE LORD WHICH HE SPOKE BY ELIJAH. ELIJAH REVIVES THE WIDOW'S SON 17 NOW IT HAPPENED AFTER THESE THINGS THAT THE SON OF THE WOMAN WHO OWNED THE HOUSE BECAME SICK. AND HIS SICKNESS WAS SO SERIOUS THAT THERE WAS NO BREATH LEFT IN HIM. 18 SO SHE SAID TO ELIJAH, "WHAT HAVE I TO DO WITH YOU, O MAN OF GOD?

HAVE YOU COME TO ME TO BRING MY SIN TO REMEMBRANCE, AND TO KILL MY SON." 19 AND HE SAID TO HER, "GIVE ME YOUR SON." SO HE TOOK HIM OUT OF HER ARMS AND CARRIED HIM TO THE UPPER ROOM WHERE HE WAS STAYING, AND LAID HIM ON HIS OWN BED. 20 THEN HE CRIED OUT TO THE LORD AND SAID, "O LORD MY GOD, HAVE YOU ALSO BROUGHT TRAGEDY ON THE WIDOW WITH WHOM I LODGE, BY KILLING HER SON." 21 AND HE STRETCHED HIMSELF OUT ON THE CHILD THREE TIMES, AND CRIED OUT TO THE LORD AND SAID, "O LORD MY GOD, I PRAY, LET THIS CHILD'S SOUL COME BACK TO HIM." Elisha the disciple of Elijah was to encounter a similar situation and there scripture describes the application of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation (2-Kings 4:34). Radak comments on this: # He did this to revive his breathing process and to revive him with the natural body heat emanating from his mouth and body.

In most cases miracles take place when some degree of natural agency has also been applied. # This is it. Miracles happen. If we reach a minimum level we may sometimes almost be able to rely upon miracles. Nevertheless all available natural means of salvation must also be utilized. This is how the Almighty has designed HIS creation. 22 THEN THE LORD HEARD THE VOICE OF ELIJAH; AND THE SOUL OF THE CHILD CAME BACK TO HIM, AND HE REVIVED. The miracle happened. God heard the prayer of Elijah. It was a miracle even though natural agencies were also involved. 23 AND ELIJAH TOOK THE CHILD AND BROUGHT HIM DOWN FROM THE UPPER ROOM INTO THE HOUSE, AND GAVE HIM TO HIS MOTHER. AND ELIJAH SAID, "SEE, YOUR SON LIVES!" 24 THEN THE WOMAN SAID TO ELIJAH, "NOW BY THIS I KNOW THAT YOU ARE A MAN OF GOD, AND THAT THE WORD OF THE LORD IN YOUR MOUTH IS THE TRUTH." Elijah Is Fed by Ravens (Discussion Questions) - Kids Korner - BibleWise Read 1 Kings 17:1-9 Who was Elijah?

Why did God tell him to go to the brook Cherith to drink and be fed by ravens? Did you know that the Arab Bedouin people were also called ravens since they dressed in black desert garb? The word for the desert people and ravens is spelled the same, but just pronounced differently, like wind (turn something) or wind (air that blows). The way in which you pronounce them determines their meaning. It was true of the word for ravens or Bedouins. So maybe the people actually fed Elijah. Would you want to eat food that birds gave you? It might be great if that’s all there was to eat. What does this story suggest about God’s individual care for each of us? In what ways has God supplied you with what you need? What was happening in the land? Why were they having a drought? Where did God tell Elijah to go? (I Kings 17:3) Who was going to feed Elijah? (I Kings 17:4) How many times of day were the ravens going to feed him? 1 Kings 17:5 So he did what the LORD had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there.

Matthew Henry Commentary 17:1-7 God wonderfully suits men to the work he designs them for. The times were fit for an Elijah; an Elijah was fit for them. The Spirit of the Lord knows how to fit men for the occasions. Elijah let Ahab know that God was displeased with the idolaters, and would chastise them by the want of rain, which it was not in the power of the gods they served to bestow. Elijah was commanded to hide himself. If Providence calls us to solitude and retirement, it becomes us to go: when we cannot be useful, we must be patient; and when we cannot work for God, we must sit still quietly for him. The ravens were appointed to bring him meat, and did so. Let those who have but from hand to mouth, learn to live upon Providence, and trust it for the bread of the day, in the day. God could have sent angels to minister to him; but he chose to show that he can serve his own purposes by the meanest creatures, as effectually as by the mightiest. Elijah seems to have continued thus above a year.

The natural supply of water, which came by common providence, failed; but the miraculous supply of food, made sure to him by promise, failed not. If the heavens fail, the earth fails of course; such are all our creature-comforts: we lose them when we most need them, like brooks in summer. But there is a river which makes glad the city of God, that never runs dry, a well of water that springs up to eternal life. Lord, give us that living water!

Question: According to 1 Kings, which birds fed Elijah by the brook Crerith?
Answer: RAVENS